Nationwide Children's News Releases

Mar 09, 2022

Early Phase Gene Therapy Study for SMARD1/CMT2S Disease Now Enrolling

Nationwide Children's Hospital has launched a new Phase I/IIa gene replacement clinical study to evaluate the safety of a gene therapy for IGHMBP2-related diseases, specifically spinal muscular atrophy with respiratory distress type 1 (SMARD1) and Charcot Marie Tooth disease type 2S (CMT2S). SMARD1 and CMT2S are rare inherited conditions that are both caused by mutations in the IGHMBP2 gene, of which more than 60 have been found to date. SMARD1 is the most severe form of these diseases and causes muscle weakness and respiratory failure in infancy.

Mar 01, 2022

Nationwide Children’s Hospital Formally Assumes Ownership of Mercy Health – Children’s Hospital

After working collaboratively for more than two years to provide high quality health care to children and their families throughout the region, today Nationwide Children’s Hospital formally assumed ownership of Mercy Health – Children’s Hospital, marking the conclusion of a months-long transition plan that culminates in the debut of Nationwide Children’s Hospital – Toledo.

Dennis Durbin, MD, MSCE, Named President of the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
Feb 25, 2022

Dennis Durbin, MD, MSCE, Named President of the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital

Beginning March 1, 2022, Dennis Durbin, MD, MSCE, will become the third president of the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital. Dr. Durbin joined Nationwide Children's in 2018 as its first chief scientific officer.

Feb 22, 2022

The Great Collide: The Impact of Children’s Mental Health On the Workforce

The pediatric and adolescent mental health crisis –brought to new attention and made more urgent by the stresses of the pandemic – is now showing to have direct and dramatic implications in the workplace. On Our Sleeves, the movement for children’s mental health, recently conducted a first-of-its-kind national study in spring 2021, funded by the Nationwide Foundation, to specifically evaluate the impact of children’s mental health on parents' work performance and, in turn, on companies’ success.

Feb 11, 2022

Nationwide Children's Hospital Ranked #1 Hospital in Ohio and in Top 10 among Hospitals in U.S. on Forbes List of “America’s Best Employers”

Nationwide Children’s Hospital has been named one of “America’s Best Employers” by Forbes. Joining 35 hospitals and health systems named to the national list of 500 top large employers (companies with more than 5,000 U.S.-based employees), Nationwide Children’s is the top ranked hospital in Ohio and 9th among all hospitals in the United States.

Feb 10, 2022

Epilepsy Centers in United States Expand in Size and Specialized Testing Services with Accreditation

New research from the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital has found that as a result of the increased number of accredited epilepsy centers in the United States, drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) patients have easier access to specialized testing and services. The report, which describes level 3 and level 4 epilepsy centers that were accredited by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers (NAEC) from 2012 to 2019, published this week in Neurology.

New Study Finds High-Powered Magnets Lead to Hospitalizations and Life-Threatening Injuries in Children
Feb 03, 2022

New Study Finds High-Powered Magnets Lead to Hospitalizations and Life-Threatening Injuries in Children

A recent study led by researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy and Emergency Medicine at Nationwide Children’s Hospital along with 24 other children’s hospitals across the country looked at nearly 600 cases of high-powered magnet-related injuries in the three years after high-powered magnets re-entered the US market (2017 to 2019).

Feb 01, 2022

Study supports virotherapy as a potential treatment for brain tumors

A new study provides additional evidence of the efficacy of virotherapy for glioblastoma, the most deadly type of brain tumor. The research findings, published Feb. 1, 2022, in Clinical Cancer Research, indicate that an oncolytic herpes simplex virus, G207, appears to boost immune response and that this is associated with better overall survival for patients with glioblastoma.

Nationwide Children’s Hospital Researcher Lauren Bakaletz, PhD, Honored by AAAS as Lifetime AAAS Fellow
Jan 26, 2022

Nationwide Children’s Hospital Researcher Lauren Bakaletz, PhD, Honored by AAAS as Lifetime AAAS Fellow

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the Science family of journals, has elected Lauren Bakaletz, PhD, director of the Center for Microbial Pathogenesis in the Abigail Wexner Research Institute (AWRI) at Nationwide Children’s Hospital to the newest class of AAAS Fellows, among the most distinct honors within the scientific community.

Right Care, Right Place, Right Time? Frequency and Duration of Boarding for Pediatric Mental Health Conditions at Acute Care Hospitals
Dec 28, 2021

Right Care, Right Place, Right Time? Frequency and Duration of Boarding for Pediatric Mental Health Conditions at Acute Care Hospitals

According to the results of a national survey conducted, in part by a researcher at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, mental health boarding in emergency departments (ED) and/or hospital inpatient settings is common with a median of 4 patients daily and associated with median durations of 48 hours – 10 times longer than standards established by the Joint Commission. In addition, in these acute care settings, youths received minimal mental health services during their lengthy boarding. Unfortunately, these patients are getting the wrong care, in the wrong place and at the wrong time. The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.